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It's never too late (as in real sports) to start the offseason talk. So this is the thread (especially for those waiting for the playoffs to end) to talk about things we'd change for season 2, now that we've put our "Toe in the water". I started this thread now so that we can roll right into Season 2 after the playoffs.

Topics are not limited to, but could include...

- Who is in for playing Season 2?

- How long (games) should the season be?

- I love 6 minute quarters. Stick with them?

- Do we want to agree on a tie-breaker formula? Hopefully an easy one like head to head followed by PF/PA?

- Do we honestly want to entertain the idea of a draft as some have mentioned? Or should we at the very least consider some way to make sure there aren't 4 Earl Campbells? Do we care, given that it's all in fun and we've had a good time?

As I said earlier, other topics welcomed. I know in posting this I risk us going into some kind of indecision deadlock. So I might make some judgment calls. But I wanted to give everyone interested a chance for some feedback on things we could improve/change in the upcoming season.

One thought I had is with regards to duplicate players. I thought it would be cool if everyone posted their likely rosters. Then we could get a sense of how bad the duplicate players were, if it was going to be a problem, etc.

Given the relatively small number of star players available at some positions I don't see how a draft can work and still get everyone a decent team.

I'm in anyway really.

*edit again later*
I removed the list because it's being changed pretty drastically I think.

One note is that I'd really be happier if we all were sure to pick different team logos and names. If we were to do a "draft" or whatever I'd prefer it be over the team names/logos. My current aim is to be the Lexington Werewolves. Hopefully nobody else was set on using that one

*edit*

As far as the league settings go I'm fine with what we have really. Maybe 7 minutes instead of 6, like Firesloth says below, but otherwise everything's fine.

I'll post my roster once I settle the running back debate. Right now I go back and forth between using Okoye again with a good fullback in front of him or using a gold star running back like Marcus Allen.

I agree, btw, that we don't need a draft or anything of the sort. I am simply responding to a common complaint from a few in the league. I think there are a small enough pool of players that just based on our personal preferences, guys we love from our childhood or love playing with we're bound to have some matter of crossover. I thought it might be worth posting rosters, however, just in case we end up with half the league is using Cunningham again and we decide individually whether we might want to differentiate.

Also, it's just fun to see how others are thinking. Half the strategy (and of course this is all voluntary in that sense) is in assembling your team.

For whatever reason I've assembled my current team such that my defense keeps me in games I have no right being in with my no-name quarterback. So I doubt I'll make many changes on defense. I like everyone and they haven't let me down.

So, I think I'm in favor of keeping it pretty similar to the last league for our second go-round. We could maybe mix it up for the third season!

I think trying to make sure we all have a different name could be fine. I'm dedicated to the Swashbucklers. I thought the 6 minute quarters were fine; 7 minutes would be fun, too. I think we played at Pro difficulty last time. Initially I had thought we should go All-Pro, but I think the scores weren't outrageous and few would describe it as too easy, so I say keep it at whatever we had last time.

My team will be almost 100% different than last time. Lem Barney (CB) may be the only hold-over...wait, I'm also thinking of keeping Dwight Clark at WR. I'm trying my darndest to change Cunningham, even though I thought he worked quite well (he was only the second QB I tried in the game, so I'm gonna' play around a bit). And, while it's gonna' hurt, I'm thinking of not using a place kicker... More on my replacements as I play around with 'em some more. I really could use *one* more star player...

Yeah, I go back and forth on the placekicker thing. On the one hand that's an extra defensive player or starred receiver I could use. On the other hand, I'm awful at kicking. Even a bronze kicker at the very least nets me an extra 15 years of field position and "possibly" a stray field goal here and there.

I too like the way things are, but now is our chance in case we want to change anything, so I'm open. As far as names go, I'm pretty attached to the Sharks. My wife is from Kailua Kona, the Sharks fit perfectly there, I like the unis. So I'm sticking with them. I'll just be changing the players.

One note: putting star players on your O-line does almost nothing to stop silver or gold D-linemen from sacking you. They run by them just like they run by anyone else.

Watching Dexter Manley run right over Larry Little is my favorite example so far. That's a bronze running right around a gold, for those keeping score. Four times in one game Manley got through Little.

One note: putting star players on your O-line does almost nothing to stop silver or gold D-linemen from sacking you. They run by them just like they run by anyone else.

Watching Dexter Manley run right over Larry Little is my favorite example so far. That's a bronze running right around a gold, for those keeping score. Four times in one game Manley got through Little.

Yeah. It's a shame they didn't just give you a freebie on the linemen since there's no difference beyond the names.

I've been toying with a new team that swaps the Stabler, Campbell & Rice triumvirate with Dawson, Emmitt Smith & Ditka. I don't know if I'll like anything as much as my current team though. There's really no one like Campbell in the game (which is sort of why I want to jettison him).

Slumberland -- Ditka is just crazy. I'm still toiling over the second gold on my new team, and Ditka is a possibility, but that will put two gold on O for me...maybe that's good, given last season's struggles!

Two things. First off, funny that someone else thought of trying out Grogan. I love him so far, so hopefully this doesn't become an issue.

Secondly, I thought about ditching Okoye, going with a Silver Receiver and a RB like Marcus Allen. I still might. The problem is that I'm a passing team at heart. So I don't know if I want to give a Gold Star slot to any running back, Earl Campbell, anyone. I've been in most games I've played this season, including games against Campbell, with no starred QB. So I'm inclined to keep my D intact, upgrade my QB while picking up a fullback to hopefully make Okoye better. Okoye or another running back to follow Moose's blocks.

Funny story. So yesterday I go online to play a pubbie game. I play against the worst sport I've ever played against. The worst. I just wanted to try my new team out. He wanted to thrash me. He was throwing bombs while up by 24. He was kicking it onsides while up by 24. He was going for 2 point conversions every time. He went for it on almost every 4th down and he blitzed almost the entire game.

So finally I just flipped a switch and I was like "if he thinks I'm a threat I'm going to go bezerk on him rather than wait for him to take a knee). In the 4th quarter I outscored him 38 - 7 and came back to send the game to overtime at 64-64. In overtime I forced him to kick a field goal, a long one, which he barely made to win 67-64. Grogan threw for over 660 yards passing. I had a receiver with 340+ yards and another with over 160.

Afterwords when asked to rate each other I gave him a negative/poor sportsmanship. He gave me a positive/great sportsmanship. I guess we define sportsmanship differently.

Yeah. My experience with a non-starred QB has been good for me. It's taught me that if I play solidly I can live with a bronze QB (I considered Krieg as well, Harbaugh was another one) and spend that pick on a FB or another receiver.

I'm actually kind of dissapointed in how they've seemed to handle the HBs. Because, unless there's some mystery skill-level that i'm missing, some of the other Gold Star HBs like Marcus Allen and Sweetness don't compare to Campbell and O.J. by a longshot, which, I personally think is bunk.

So, first few test games with Krieg are a success. The only negative is that he doesn't have much of an arm really. I miss the "Rocket Arm" stat. But the only way to get that with a scrambling QB is Cunningham and I just don't want to use the silver star on a QB. It feels better used on another receiver.

I'm still a little loathe to use anything less than silver on my QB, especially since, with my current team, i've got Bart Starr behind center, and the "Signal Stealer" ability has actually gotten me 21 points in the season i'm playing.

I just finished a game where I sacked their quarterback 23 times. On one of their drives it was actually 4th down on the 2 yard line, 37 yards to go. Since they were down in the fourth quarter.. they went for it.

In fact, Bernie Kosar has Pocket Presence, Signal Stealer, and Laser Arm. Neil O'Donnel has it paired with Leadership Bonus, which I think is a noticeable difference in how your generic offensive players play. And then there's Steven Bartkowski who pairs Signal Stealer with Strength Bonus and Rocket Arm.

Yeah, I need a definitive list of who's in. The lineup idea was just so we could trade notes, compare, just in case some of us were adverse to having too many Earl Campbells in the league or something.

Otherwise all I need is a list of people who are in. The playoffs should wrap up shortly, I would think. And then we'll be on to Season 2.